Passage

Philippians 2.25-30

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

23. Him therefore I hope to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me: 24. but I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come shortly.

25. But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need; 26. since he longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he was sick: 27. for indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28. I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy; and hold such in honor: 30. because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me. (Philippians 2:23-30, ASV)

WEB

23. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me. 24. But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.

25. But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need; 26. since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick. 27. For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow. 28. I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor, 30. because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me. (Philippians 2:23-30, WEB)

KJV

23. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. 24. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

25. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 27. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: ^{hold: or, honor such} 30. Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. (Philippians 2:23-30, KJV)

YLT

23. him, indeed, therefore, I hope to send, when I may see through the things concerning me, immediately; 24. and I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall quickly come.

25. And I thought [it] necessary Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow-workman, and fellow-soldier, and your apostle and servant to my need, to send unto you, 26. seeing he was longing after you all, and in heaviness, because ye heard that he ailed, 27. for he also ailed nigh to death, but God did deal kindly with him, and not with him only, but also with me, that sorrow upon sorrow I might not have. 28. The more eagerly, therefore, I did send him, that having seen him again ye may rejoice, and I may be the less sorrowful; 29. receive him, therefore, in the Lord, with all joy, and hold such in honour, 30. because on account of the work of the Christ he drew near to death, having hazarded the life that he might fill up your deficiency of service unto me. (Philippians 2:23-30, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, writing with Timothy named as co-sender (Philippians 1:1).
Audience: The Church at Philippi, in a Roman colony of Macedonia (Acts 16:12), founded on the mission narrated in Acts 16 and addressed with its bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1). The church had sent Paul a gift by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30, 4:18). The unit commends Epaphroditus, the church's envoy who brought its gift (Philippians 4:18), and explains why Paul is sending him back.
Location: Written from imprisonment (Philippians 1:7, 1:13). The place is debated: Rome is the traditional identification, and Ephesus and Caesarea are proposed as alternatives.
Time period: Depends on the imprisonment: c. AD 60-62 if Rome, c. AD 57-59 if Caesarea, the mid-50s if Ephesus.

Theological reading

Epaphroditus is presented in the terms of the Christ hymn. "because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death" (Philippians 2:30, ASV). "Unto death" is mechri thanatou, the same phrase as 2:8, where Christ became "obedient even unto death" (Philippians 2:8, ASV); the KJV tags G3360 and G2288 at both places. With Timothy in 2:19-24, Epaphroditus is an example of the mind of 2:5 in an ordinary believer.

"Hazarding his life." The verb paraboleuomai (G3851), "to risk," occurs only here in the New Testament. The ASV renders it "hazarding his life," the KJV "not regarding his life." "Life" is psychē.

"That which was lacking" is not a rebuke. He came near death "to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me" (Philippians 2:30, ASV). The most natural sense is that what the church lacked was the ability to serve Paul in person; Epaphroditus did on their behalf what distance prevented. "Service" is leitourgia (G3009), the priestly word of 2:17.

Paul takes responsibility for the return. He says "I counted it necessary to send" (2:25) and "I have sent him therefore the more diligently" (2:28), and asks the church to "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy; and hold such in honor" (Philippians 2:29, ASV). By presenting the return as his own decision and asking for honor (entimos, G1784), Paul presents him as one who completed his mission, not one who abandoned it. For his titles, see Philippians 2:25; for the illness, Philippians 2:25-27.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G5590 - psyche, psyche, Strong's G5590
G2288 - thanatos, thanatos, Strong's G2288
G0191 - akouo, akouo, Strong's G0191
G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314

Quoted in

Concepts:

Apostle, via Philippians 2.25
Church at Philippi

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.